Samurai aim to put Paraguay to sword

JAPAN coach Takeshi Okada believes his side have the ability to reach their first-ever World Cup quarter-final at the expense of an impressive Paraguay side.

The Japanese have only once before reached the knockout stages of the World Cup when, on home soil in 2002, they were eliminated at the second-round stage by Turkey.

But the Blue Samurai are again in the last 16 in South Africa after beating Cameroon and Denmark to finish second in Group E behind Holland.